Ohio postal worker accused of trashing mail

An Ohio postal worker has been placed on unpaid leave while the United States Postal Service investigates allegations she threw out mail.

The matter came to light this week after a resident shot video of what appears to show the worker throwing mail into a Dumpster at an apartment building in Bond Hill, near Cincinnati

. The video was turned over to the media.

"This is clearly unacceptable behavior that does not reflect the efforts of the thousands of professional, dedicated carriers in our workforce," wrote David Van Allen, spokesman for USPS, in an email Friday to an Enquirer reporter. "The Postal Service's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is currently investigating this incident."

The mail has been recovered and delivered, he added.

On Wednesday, OIG special agents went to the post office in Norwood, which handles Bond Hill's mail, in response to the complaint, said Scott Balfour, OIG spokesman.

They identified the accused postal carrier and put her on unpaid leave. They are not releasing her name, however, or employment history.

The decision to prosecute rests with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Balfour said.

"Not every case is going to merit federal prosecution," he said. "The prosecutor has to determine how best to use the limited resources of his office. In many cases, the prosecutor feels the employee's discipline or removal from employment is sufficient punishment."

Business mailers and other postal customers who think their mail is not being delivered should call their local postmaster and report suspicions.

Anyone who finds quantities of mail dumped before delivery should call the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General hotline at 1-888-USPS-OIG.